KR101352983B1 - Electric apparatus having function of control using human body communication and portable terminal having function of control for electric apparatus using human body communication - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are an electronic device having a control function using human body communication that can conveniently provide an electronic device, and a portable terminal having an electronic device control function using human body communication. An electronic device having a control function using human body communication transmits control data for controlling the electronic device through a user's body in contact with an electrode provided in an external housing, and a portable terminal having an electronic device control function using human body communication. After the control data is downloaded, the control menu is displayed based on the control data, and a control signal corresponding to the control menu selected by the user is transmitted to the electronic device through a human body communication or a wireless interface. Therefore, it is possible to control electronic devices conveniently and easily and to perform the control optimized for each electronic device.

Description

TECHNICAL APPARATUS HAVING FUNCTION OF CONTROL USING HUMAN BODY COMMUNICATION AND PORTABLE TERMINAL HAVING FUNCTION OF CONTROL FOR ELECTRIC APPARATUS USING HUMAN BODY COMMUNICATION }

The present invention relates to the control of an electronic device, and more particularly, to an electronic device having a control function using a human body communication that can conveniently control the electronic device using human body communication, and an electronic device control function using human body communication. It relates to a portable terminal provided.

The present invention is derived from a study conducted as part of the IT source technology development project of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy [Task Management Number: 2006-S-072-04, Task name: Human Communication Controller SoC].

In general, electronic devices such as a television, an audio / video system, and an air conditioner control operations or functions by using buttons provided on an external housing of the electronic device or a remote controller provided separately. The number of controllers increases, making management and storage difficult.

In order to alleviate the above inconvenience, a learning type remote controller is commercially available. However, since the learning type remote controller requires a user to learn a function corresponding to a button of the remote controller, the initial setting is complicated, and the learning method is performed when the battery is discharged. Because the data you initialize is initialized, it has to be retrained.

In addition, recently, a portable terminal having a built-in remote controller function has been manufactured in a portable terminal such as a mobile phone. However, the portable terminal manufacturer has to mount the remote controller function for each manufacturer and model of the electronic device in advance. Electronic devices cannot be used, and even when a function of a remote controller is mounted, there is a disadvantage in that it is inconvenient to use when a key provided in a portable terminal does not exactly match a key of the remote controller.

An object of the present invention for overcoming the above disadvantages is to provide an electronic device having a control function using human body communication that can conveniently control the electronic device.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal having an electronic device control function using human body communication that can conveniently control the electronic device.

The technical objects of the present invention are not limited to the technical matters mentioned above, and other technical subjects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

An electronic device having a control function using human body communication in accordance with an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention, the control unit for performing the control for providing the control data read out after reading the control data A first control unit, a first human body communication unit which converts the control data into a signal capable of human communication in correspondence with a control signal of the first control unit, and installed in an outer housing of the electronic device and contacting a signal provided from the first human body communication unit; It includes an electrode for transmitting to the body of the user and a first storage unit for storing the control data.

Here, the electronic device having a control function using the human body communication may further include a control signal receiving unit receiving a control signal provided through an air interface from an external device, processing the received control signal, and providing the received control signal to the first controller. have.

Here, the first human body communication unit may process and provide a control signal provided from an external device to the first controller through the electrode in contact with the body of the user.

Here, the first control unit may generate a device control signal for controlling the electronic device in response to the control signal provided from the first human body communication unit.

Here, the control data may be a software program for controlling the electronic device.

In addition, a portable terminal having an electronic device control function using human body communication according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving another object of the present invention, the control received and received the control data from the electronic device through the user's body A second controller configured to provide data, a second controller configured to store the control data, and to configure a control menu for controlling the electronic device based on the control data; and according to the control of the second controller. And an input / output unit for displaying a control menu and a second storage unit for storing control data of at least one electronic device.

Here, when a predetermined control menu is selected from the displayed control menu, the second controller may provide a control signal corresponding to the selected predetermined control menu to the second human body communication unit.

Here, the second human body communication unit may convert a control signal corresponding to the predetermined control menu provided from the second control unit into a signal capable of human body communication and transmit the signal to the electronic device through a user's body.

Here, the portable terminal having an electronic device control function using the human body communication may further include a control signal transmitter for processing a control signal provided to the second controller and transmitting the control signal to the electronic device through a wireless interface.

The control data may be a software program for controlling the electronic device.

According to the electronic device having a control function using human body communication as described above and the portable terminal having an electronic device control function using human body communication, the control data stored in each electronic device is downloaded to the portable terminal through human body communication, After configuring the control menu using the control data downloaded from the portable terminal, the control signal corresponding to the user's selection is transmitted to the corresponding electronic device through a human body communication or a wireless interface.

Therefore, it is possible to control electronic devices conveniently and easily, and to perform the control optimized for each electronic device.

1 to 3 are conceptual views illustrating the operation of an electronic device having a control function using human body communication and a portable terminal having an electronic device control function using human body communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device having a control function using human body communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a portable terminal having an electronic device control function using human body communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail.

It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the relevant art and are to be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in the present application Do not.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for the same constituent elements in the drawings and redundant explanations for the same constituent elements are omitted.

1 to 3 are conceptual views illustrating the operation of an electronic device having a control function using human body communication and a portable terminal having an electronic device control function using human body communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 1, various electronic devices 100 such as a refrigerator, a television, an audio system, and the like have a human body communication function and include an electrode 101 in contact with a human body 10 in an external housing. In addition, the electronic devices 100 store control data for controlling the electronic device in a nonvolatile memory provided therein, and the control data in the portable terminal 200 in contact with the user's body 10 through human body communication. To provide. Here, the control data refers to a software program that can control each electronic device (100).

For example, when the user touches the electrode 101 provided in the electronic device 100 while the user is in contact with the portable terminal 200, the electronic device 100 reads the stored control data to enable human body communication. After conversion to the electrode 101 is provided. The control data provided to the electrode 101 is downloaded to the portable terminal 200 through the body 10 of the user. In this case, the portable terminal is provided with a human body communication function, and an electrode (not shown) which is in contact with the body 10 of the user for human body communication is provided.

The portable terminal 200 that downloads the control data of the electronic device 100 using human body communication controls the electronic device to control the electronic device on the display device provided in the portable terminal 200 after processing the provided control data. Display the menu. Here, when the control data for the plurality of electronic devices 100 is stored in the portable terminal 200, the portable terminal 200 first displays an electronic device selection menu so that a user can select a target electronic device to be controlled. When a predetermined electronic device is selected by the user, a control menu for controlling the selected electronic device may be displayed.

As illustrated and described with reference to FIG. 1, the portable terminal 200 may download electronic device control data from the electronic device 100 through human body communication, and then control the electronic device 100 using the downloaded control data. .

Here, the portable terminal 200 may control the electronic device 100 using human body communication, or may control the electronic device 100 wirelessly.

Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic device control process using the human body communication will be described. A user controls a predetermined control menu of a predetermined electronic device (eg, a television) displayed on the portable terminal 200 while the portable terminal 200 is in contact with the portable terminal 200. When selecting and touching the electrode 101 of the electronic device 100 to be controlled, the portable terminal 200 is a human body communication standard (or protocol) to enable the human body communication control data corresponding to the control item selected by the user After the conversion according to the user's body 10 and transmits to the electrode 101 of the electronic device 100, the electronic device 100 operation or function corresponding to the control signal received through the electrode 101 Do this.

Alternatively, the portable terminal 200 may control the electronic device 100 wirelessly as shown in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, the portable terminal 200 downloads control data from the electronic device 100 through human body communication, and then selects a user through a wireless control module (for example, an infrared transmission module or an RF transmission module). The electronic device can be controlled by converting control data to the wireless transmission standard and transmitting the control data to the corresponding electronic device.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device having a control function using human body communication according to an embodiment of the present invention, a well-known configuration that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4, the electronic device 100 having a control function using human body communication includes a first control unit 110, a first storage unit 120, a first human body communication unit 130, an electrode 140, and a control. It may include a signal receiver 150.

When it is determined that the user's body is in contact with the electrode 140, the first controller 110 reads out the control data stored in the first storage unit 120 and provides the first control unit 130 to the first human body communication unit 130. Control is performed so that data can be transmitted to the user's body through the electrode 140.

In addition, the first control unit 110 receives a control signal from the first human body communication unit 130 or the control signal receiving unit 150 and generates a device control signal for controlling the function or operation of the electronic device in accordance with the provided control signal. do.

The control data is stored in the first storage unit 120. Here, the control data may be a software program designed to control the electronic device.

The first human body communication unit 130 processes the control data provided from the first control unit 110 according to a human body communication standard (or protocol), converts the human body into a signal capable of human communication, and then converts the converted signal through the electrode 140. Transmission to the body of the user who is in contact with the electrode 140.

In addition, the first human body communication unit 130 receives a control signal provided from the user's body through the electrode 140, processes the provided control signal, and provides the received control signal to the first control unit 110. Here, the control signal means a signal for controlling the function or operation of the electronic device.

The electrode 140 may be installed in an external housing of an electronic device where the user's body may be easily contacted, and may transmit a signal provided from the first human body communication unit 130 to a contacted user's body or provide a signal provided from the user's body. 1 to the human body communication unit 130.

The control signal receiving unit 150 may be implemented as, for example, an RF receiving module, an infrared receiving module, or a Bluetooth receiving module. The control signal receiving unit 150 may process a control signal provided through a wireless interface from a user's portable terminal to the first control unit 110. to provide.

5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a portable terminal having an electronic device control function using human body communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the portable terminal 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a second human body communication unit 210, a second control unit 220, a second storage unit 230, an input / output unit 240, and a control unit. The signal transmitter 250 may be included.

The second human body communication unit 210 may include an electrode (not shown) that may contact the user's body, and is transmitted through the user's body when the user's body contacts the electrode 140 provided in the electronic device. The control data is received and the received control data is processed and provided to the second controller 220. Here, the second human body communication unit 210 may perform a process such as demodulation on the signal received through the user's body, and may provide it to the second control unit 220.

In addition, the second human body communication unit 210 may process the control signal provided from the second control unit 220 according to a human body communication standard, convert the signal into a signal capable of human body communication, and then transmit the control signal to the electronic device 100 through the user's body. have. Here, the second human body communication unit 210 may transmit the control signal provided from the second control unit 220 after performing a process such as modulation.

The second control unit 220 stores the control data transmitted from the electronic device 100 through the second human body communication unit 210 in the second storage unit 230, and the download of the control data is completed and the user's operation is controlled. Accordingly, when the electronic device control function is activated, the control data of the corresponding electronic device stored in the second storage unit 230 is read out to form a control menu and then provided to the input / output unit 240. Here, when control data for a plurality of electronic devices is stored in the second storage unit 230, the second controller 220 first displays an electronic device selection menu so that a user can select a target electronic device to be controlled. When a predetermined electronic device is selected by the user, a control menu corresponding to the selected electronic device may be displayed.

In addition, when the user selects a predetermined control menu among the displayed control menus, the second controller 220 provides a control signal corresponding to the selected control menu to the second human body communication unit 210 or the control signal transmitter 250.

The second storage unit 230 includes control data downloaded from at least one electronic device under the control of the second control unit 220. Here, the control data may be a software program designed to control each electronic device.

The input / output unit 240 may be configured as, for example, a touch screen and may display an electronic device selection menu or an electronic device control menu according to the control of the second controller 220. In addition, the input / output unit 240 provides the second control unit 220 with a menu operation signal corresponding to a menu item operated by a user among the displayed menus.

Alternatively, in another embodiment of the present invention, the input / output unit 240 may include a key input unit 241 composed of a plurality of keys and a display unit 243 composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) element, respectively. It may have a configured form.

The control signal transmitter 250 may be configured as an RF transmitter module, an infrared transmitter module, or a Bluetooth transmitter module. The control signal transmitter 250 processes the control signal provided from the second controller 220 and provides the control signal to the corresponding electronic device through a wireless interface.

The portable terminal 200 illustrated in FIG. 5 may be, for example, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), or the like.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be possible.

100: electronic device 110: first control unit
120: first storage unit 130: first human body communication unit
140: electrode 150: control signal receiver
210: second human body communication unit 220: second control unit
230: second storage unit 240: input and output unit
250: control signal transmission unit

Claims (10)

A first controller configured to read out control data and then perform control to provide the read control data;
A first human body communicator converting the control data into a signal capable of human body communication in response to a control signal of the first controller;
An electrode installed in an outer housing of the electronic device and transmitting a signal provided from the first human body communication unit to a body of a contacted user; And
A first storage unit in which the control data is stored;
The first human body communication unit processes a control signal provided from an external device through the electrode in contact with the body of the user and provides the first control unit to the first control unit.
And the first control unit generates a device control signal for controlling the electronic device in response to the control signal provided from the first human body communication unit.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device includes a control function using the human body communication.
And a control signal receiver configured to receive a control signal provided through an air interface from an external device, process the received control signal, and provide the received control signal to the first control unit. delete delete 2. The method of claim 1,
An electronic device having a control function using human body communication, characterized in that the software program for controlling the electronic device. A second human body communication unit which receives the control data from the electronic device through the user's body and provides the received control data;
A second control unit which stores the control data and configures a control menu for controlling the electronic device based on the control data;
An input / output unit which displays the control menu according to the control of the second controller; And
A second storage unit for storing control data of at least one electronic device,
When the predetermined control menu is selected from the displayed control menu, the second controller provides a control signal corresponding to the selected predetermined control menu to the second human body communication unit,
The second human body communication unit converts a control signal corresponding to the predetermined control menu provided from the second control unit into a signal capable of human body communication and transmits the human body communication to the electronic device through a user's body. Portable terminal with electronic device control function. delete delete The portable terminal of claim 6, wherein the portable terminal includes an electronic device control function using the human body communication.
And a control signal transmitter configured to process the control signal provided to the second control unit and transmit the control signal to the electronic device through a wireless interface. The method of claim 6, wherein the control data is
A portable terminal having an electronic device control function using human body communication, characterized in that the software program for controlling the electronic device.

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